Octavius Henry Cyril Vernon Harcourt (25 December 1793 – 14 August 1863) was a British naval officer. He was the eighth son of
Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt
Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt (10 October 1757 – 5 November 1847) was a Church of England bishop. He was the Bishop of Carlisle from 1791 to 1807 and then the Archbishop of York until his death.
He was the third son of the George Venables-V ...
,
Archbishop of York
The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...
, and began life as Octavius Henry Cyril Vernon at
Rose Castle,
Cumberland
Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...
. On 15 January 1831, succeeding to the properties of
William Harcourt, 3rd Earl Harcourt
Field Marshal William Harcourt, 3rd Earl Harcourt, (20 March 1743 – 17 June 1830) was a British nobleman and British Army officer. He served as an '' aide-de-camp'' to Lord Albemarle for the expedition to Havana during the Seven Years' War. H ...
, the father's cousin, the family assumed the additional surname of ''Harcourt''.
[''Dictionary of National Biography'', 1890.]
Naval career
Harcourt entered the Royal Navy in August 1806 as a midshipman on board the
74-gun
The "seventy-four" was a type of two- decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently-de ...
, under the command of Captain
Benjamin Hallowell, and in 1807 took part in the expedition to Egypt, witnessing the surrender of
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
, and was employed on boat-service on the
Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...
. During the blockade of
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
, he took part the action of October 1809 which led to the destruction of the French ships and . After Hallowell's promotion to rear-admiral in August 1811, Harcourt followed him into . He served in ''Malta'' in the Mediterranean, co-operating with the troops on the south-east coast of Spain, and serving in the
batteries at the
siege of Tarragona in 1813. He was promoted to lieutenant on 11 January 1814 and joined the under Captain
Thomas James Maling
Thomas James Maling (15 July 1778 – 22 January 1849) was a Royal Navy officer, a captain during Napoleonic Wars and later promoted to Rear-Admiral.
Biography
He was the son of Christopher Thompson Maling, DL, of Worcestershire, and scion of t ...
. While off the coast of Italy, he landed with a party of seamen and marines near
Piombino
Piombino is an Italian town and ''comune'' of about 35,000 inhabitants in the province of Livorno (Tuscany). It lies on the border between the Ligurian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea, in front of Elba Island and at the northern side of Maremma.
Ove ...
, captured a
martello tower
Martello towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts.
They stand up ...
and brought out or destroyed a convoy which was anchored under its protection.
During the
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...
, Harcourt served aboard the frigate , under Captain the Honourable
Granville Proby
Granville may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Granville (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
* Earl Granville, a title in the Peerage of Great Britain and of the UK
* Baron Granville, a title in the ...
, in the blockade of
Elba
Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National ...
, and when the news of the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo arrived, was sent with a Major of the
Tuscan army to summon the town of
Porto Ferrajo
Portoferraio () is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Livorno, on the edge of the eponymous harbour of the island of Elba. It is the island's largest city. Because of its terrain, many of its buildings are situated on the slopes of a tiny h ...
to hear the announcement. ''Amelia'' was paid off in December 1816, and Harcourt remained on
half-pay Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service.
Past usage United Kingdom
In the Eng ...
until February 1818 when he was appointed to the ''Sir Francis Drake'', the flagship of
Sir Charles Hamilton, governor of
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
. There, in February 1820, he was appointed
commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
...
of the sloop , and also commanded the for a short time the same year. He then served in the West Indies, commanding from June 1824, and from May 1825, until finally returning to England in July 1827.
He was promoted to
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
on 7 August 1827, and was selected by the
Duke of Clarence
Duke of Clarence is a substantive title which has been traditionally awarded to junior members of the British Royal Family. All three creations were in the Peerage of England.
The title was first granted to Lionel of Antwerp, the second son ...
, the
Lord High Admiral, to act as his
aide-de-camp aboard the
royal yacht
A royal yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head. The royal yacht is most often c ...
during an inspection tour to various naval ports. He received his last appointment in March 1834, commanding , taking Hamilton Charles James Hamilton,
the British Minister, to
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, and then employed in surveying the coast of
central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
and
the Californias
The Californias (Spanish: ''Las Californias''), occasionally known as The Three Californias or Two Californias, are a region of North America spanning the United States and Mexico, consisting of the U.S. state of California and the Mexican stat ...
, before finally returning home in October 1836.
On 26 October 1854 he was promoted to rear-admiral on half-pay, and on 10 June 1861 to vice-admiral on the retired list.
Charitable works
He was appointed
High Sheriff of Yorkshire
The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere ...
for 1849. He built at his own expense and endowed a church at
Healey, near
Masham
Masham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 1,205 at the 2011 census.
Etymology
In Wensleydale, on the western bank of the River Ure, the name derives from the An ...
in North Yorkshire, another church at
Brent Tor
Brent Tor is a tor on the western edge of Dartmoor, approximately four miles (6.5 km) north of Tavistock, rising to 1100 ft (330m) above sea level. The Tor is surmounted by the Church of St Michael, the parish church of the village of ...
,
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
shire, and restored the parish church of Masham. In 1858 he erected in Masham six
almshouse
An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...
s which he endowed with £1,775 three per cent
Consols
Consols (originally short for consolidated annuities, but subsequently taken to mean consolidated stock) were government debt issues in the form of perpetual bonds, redeemable at the option of the government. They were issued by the Bank of Englan ...
.
Harcourt's racehorse
Ellington won
The Derby in 1856.
Marriage and death
He married, on 22 February 1838, Anne Holwell, second daughter of William Gater, and widow of
William Danby of
Swinton Park, near Masham in Yorkshire. He died at Swinton Park, Yorkshire, on 14 August 1863.
His widow Anne died on 26 June 1879,
devising her Yorkshire estates to George, fifth son of
Sir Robert Affleck, Bt.,
a relative of William Danby's mother, who then took the name Danby.
See also
*
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harcourt, Octavius Henry Cyril Vernon
1793 births
1863 deaths
Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
Royal Navy vice admirals
British racehorse owners and breeders
Owners of Epsom Derby winners
Octavius
High Sheriffs of Yorkshire